Most of our parents only came so far in understanding us through following our social media accounts. Social media taught our parents a lot about our pain, our dreams, and how we deal with different kinds of problems than what they faced at our age. Meanwhile, Arab podcasts are making mad waves all around the region and it’s time we all jumped on board.
Here is a list of Arab podcasts that play by that rules in changing the tone of the official Arab media voices, thereby making it easier to translate the new generational logic. However, this is not only directed to our parents, but to our governments and social institutions as well, changing the tone the world hears from the Middle East.
ABtalks
“How do you really feel today?” Every episode of Abtalks starts with this simple, yet difficult question. Anas, the interviewer, doesn’t want the generic answer of “alhamdulillah”. Instead, he wants to know how you feel at this time of your life.
Anas digs deep into the childhood of his guests and focuses on their relationship with their parents, how they came to appreciate their efforts and the tough decisions that are made each day.
He interviews all kinds of famous Arabs, of different ages and all nationalities, offering us the chance to hear each other more, and provides English subtitles in order to reintroduce the Arab youth to the world.
Sarde After Dinner
After watching more than 5 of their podcast videos, you’ll definitely feel the courage and anger in Mouin and Medea’s voices that has only gotten louder since their days on the streets while participating in the Lebanese revolution.
There is no filter in this podcast and guests can say whatever they want because it reflects the podcast’s name: “Sarde (noun), a colloquial term used in Lebanon to describe the act of letting go and kicking off a stream of a rambling narrative,” they explain.
Their angry voices and salty language are what make this podcast easy to relate and get addicted to. In addition, they have a bold choice of guests as well, interviewing Mia Khalifa, the ex-adult movie actress, after she donated over $400k to Lebanon.
Fengan
Fengan is a Saudi production house that produces more than 5 different podcast and video programs, and taking on every taboo topic there is. They give us enough courage to speak up about our problems, and face society with an educated and polite tone of voice.
They recolor our mental image of Saudi youth by reaching out to Saudi parents with what their kids want to say, but can’t. The podcast discusses sexual education as well as relationship problems, which basically are every sensitive topic that can’t be discussed within a Saudi household.
On the other hand, they are raising awareness directed towards the youth’s knowledge in regards to their culture and history, filling the gap between their foreign education and local society.